A century ago, conserving water likely wasn't a priority for homeowners in the grand homes and cottages of Monte Vista, King William and other thriving neighborhoods in the city. Fast-forward to today's drought-plagued times, and homeowners often feel they must choose between dead lawns or exorbitant water bills.

With the right design and right plants they don't have to choose, but homeowners in the city's 27 historic districts have the added onus of maintaining the character of their surroundings. Rockscapes and artificial turf aren't the best fit. Neither are vast expanses of thirsty grass.

Landscape designer Charles Bartlett, owner of Green Haven Industries, will illustrate how homeowners can balance aesthetics and water use in a presentation at 10 a.m. Saturday at Landa Library. He will follow his talk, “Historic Landscapes Can Be Water Efficient,” with a walking tour to point out landscaping features at homes in the blocks near the library.

“Originally, when these houses were built in the '20s and '30s, they did have lawn area. They didn't have a lot of plantings,” Bartlett says.

Today, some of the facades are shrouded by an explosion of plants and others have concrete rather than lawns, as illustrated in the “do this, not this” portion of the City of San Antonio Historic Design Guidelines adopted by the City Council in November.

The guidelines are designed to create consistency in the design review process, not dictate specifics, such as what annuals homeowners can put in their flower beds, says Shanon Miller, director of the Office of Historic Preservation.

“What people do when they plant xeric, they remove the lawn and plant xeric plant material, but they forget about the mature size,” Bartlett says. “You can barely see the house.”

The guidelines stipulate that traditional lawn areas not be replaced entirely with impervious hardscapes, and they recommend native and drought-tolerant plantings. The document recommends that low-growing plantings be used in historic lawn areas.

“They're asking people to try to hark back to those earlier years and try to retain or continue the original look of the neighborhood rather than try to put modern design elements in,” Bartlett says.

He cites as a good example the recent landscape on a vacant lot at West Summit and Belknap. Owners Ed and Priscilla Kohutek wanted to preserve the open space across from their house, so they had the lot converted to a private parklike space. Designer Randy Rogers of Thomas Bradley and Associates echoed Asian jasmine that tumbles down the slope of a neighboring yard and Italian cypresses that tower over the Kohuteks' backyard. He also focused on details, down to the rose-colored concrete on the sidewalks.

“It was very important to us to maintain respect for the history,” says Priscilla Kohutek.

Bartlett wants others to do the same.

“My hope is that people will look at their hardscapes and fences and landscaping carefully and see if they can do something to preserve the look of their neighborhood,” he says.